The present invention relates generally to lift mechanisms and, more specifically, to a lift mechanism adapted to be mounted on a cargo carrying vehicle to facilitate the movement of articles into and out of the vehicle.
The movement of heavy articles into and out of cargo carrying vehicles, such as pickup trucks and the like, has traditionally required several strong individuals who must exert a sufficient amount of energy to make the necessary transpositions of the article. Frequently, however, a sufficient number of people necessary to lift or transport an article are not available and, in these instances, a mechanical lift is very beneficial.
Lift mechanisms have been developed for use in connection with cargo carrying vehicles, such as pickup trucks and the like, and examples of such mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,610, issued to C. R. Thatcher on Oct. 4, 1966, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,192, issued to Charles D. Monson on Feb. 26, 1974. Each of the mechanisms disclosed in these patents utilize a pivotal boom which is movable between a rest or non-use position along an exposed top side of the truck bed to an operative position wherein it overhangs the trailing end of the bed. However, the lift mechanisms disclosed in these patents are unnecessarily complicated and are exposed to view even when in a rest position.